Canada is experiencing an unusually warm winter this year, causing significant delays in the opening of a crucial 400-kilometer ice road. This ice road is essential for Rio Tinto, Burgundy Mines, and De Beers to access their remote Arctic diamond mines, which are typically accessible only by air for most of the year.
The Winter Road, built annually over 64 frozen lakes, opened two weeks late in mid-February, disrupting the movement of goods. Earlier this week, the Tlicho authorities in the Northwest Territories (NWT) had to restrict commercial truck movements due to warmer weather forecasts across the North Slave Region.
Despite these delays, diamond production remains unaffected. However, the situation highlights the ongoing challenges that mining companies face as Canada's diamond mines approach the end of their productive life. Additionally, it underscores the infrastructure hurdles for the NWT and Nunavut, which are emerging as key regions in the exploration of critical metals like rare earth, cobalt, and lithium, essential for the global transition to greener technologies.
Tom Hoefer, a senior advisor to the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, noted that this year's delay is the longest in recent years since the Winter Road first became operational in 1982. He explained, \"We did start the road a bit later as a result.\"
Climate change, fueled by the burning of fossil fuels and exacerbated by the El Niño climate pattern, pushed global temperatures to record highs in 2023. In the NWT, Yellowknife recorded its warmest winter days in a decade, with maximum temperatures reaching zero degrees Celsius in December and minus 8.7 degrees Celsius in February, according to Environment Canada.
The Winter Road operates between late January and early April and requires at least 74 centimeters of ice to support vehicles carrying up to 26,000 kilograms. These vehicles transport essential supplies like diesel and dynamite needed to keep the mines running.
On warmer days, engineers have been forced to create artificial ice using giant sprinklers that spray water high into the air, allowing it to cool and form a thick ice layer as it falls. Paul Gruner, CEO of the Indigenous corporation Tlicho Investment Corp & Group of Companies, warned that if the warm trend continues into the end of the season or an early spring, it could lead to an early closure of the Winter Road. \"So when you're nibbling away on both sides of that, you start to create a very short season,\" Gruner said.
